Gegharkunik Province

Gegharkunik Province

Gegharkunik (Armenian: Գեղարքունիք) is a province (marz) of Armenia. Gegharkunik was named after Gegham. Gegham was a Haykazuni King and fifth generation after Hayk. Gegham was the father of Sisak of Syunid nobles and Arma the grandfather of Ara the Beautiful. Geghama mountains and Geghama lake, presently Lake Sevan, were named after Gegham. References: ^ Movses of Chorene, "The History of Armenia" (in Armenian) ^ Movses of Chorene, "The History of Armenia" (in Russian) ^ Movsēs Xorenac'i, "Storia della Grande Armenia" (in Italian) ^ History of the Armenians, Moses Khorenats'i.

Gegharkunik Province is in the east of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. At 5,348 km², Gegharkunik is the largest province in Armenia by area. However, approximately 1,278 km² of its territory is covered by Lake Sevan, the largest lake in the Caucasus and a major tourist attraction of the region. It has an exclave inside Azerbaijan, Artsvashen, which came under Azerbaijani control during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Its capital is Gavar.